Vehicle-spring



A. H. HARRIS.

VEHICLE SPRING.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. I6, 19:9.

1,333,977. Patented Mar.16,1920.

ARC ER H. HARRIS, or BARBERTON, OHIO.

VEHICLE-SPRING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 16,1920.

Application filed October 16, 1919. Serial no. 330,969.

T0. all, whom it mag nancemt:

Be itknown that I, ARCHER H. HARRIS, a

citizen of the United States, andresident of Barberton, in the county of Summit and State of ()hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Springs,

of which the following is .a specification.

This invention relates to laminated springs for ,motor driven and other vehicles.

.My invention, more specifically stated, consists in the provision of L'SBI'lGS of thrust members which flexibly connect-the ad} acent leaves of the spring, at one end thereof, to

an equalizing member on the vehicle struc-- ture, all sa dmembers being .so constructed and relatively arranged that the thrustmemjbers have capacity for longitudinal motion and are constrained to move simultaneously in opposite directions to each otherby the relative longitudinal movement of the sald le v s- 7 r The invention also comprises novelfeatures of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described, and thescope of the invention then be defined in the appended claims.

Inthe drawings- Figure l. is a side elevation of. a vehicle spring equipped with a. compensating con nection embodying my invention, so much of the vehiclebeing shownqas is necessary to I Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, enlarged,

through the housing of the compensating connection. r

Fig. 3 is a,longitudinalvertical section, as

on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4c is a skeleton perspective view of the equalizing leverand its associated blocks for the link members.

Referrin to the drawings, 10 designates a laminated steel spring rigidly secured midway between its ends to the fixed axle casing 11 ofa motor driven vehicle by means of a clamp connection 12; the axle being designated 11 One end of the spring is shackled to the frame 13 of the vehicle, as at 14, and two (or more) superposed leaves or plates 15, 16 of the spring at the opposite end thereof are connected to the frame through V the medium of my improved compensating device. This device in the form illustrated comprises two associated converging arms 17 18, each having capacity for combined sliding and oscillatory motion. The body of each arm extends slidably through a trans- 16 respectively ofthe spring, erably embracing sleeves 30 on cross-pins 31 verseopening 1-9 in ablock 20 having horizontal end trunnions 21 which are supported in suitable bearings. In the present instance, these trunnions having their bearings in the walls of ahousing .22 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the frame of the vehicle. The axes ofoscillation of the respective blocks are in vertical 'alinement with each Botherand are so positioned that. the arms diverge forwardly, that is to theright as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3. The. forward or divergent ends of the arms are ,reducedand extended through a pair of pivotally mounted blocks 23, such ends being screw-threaded andprovided with nuts 24 which detachably lock the arms to the proximate blocks. These blocks .23 are pivotally supported by end trunnions .25 having their bearings in the upper and lower arms respectively of a vertical lever 26 which is fulcrumed, as by studs 27, in the walls of the housing. This lever, which constitutes an equalizing lever,

is preferably composed of two spaced apart The rearward or converging ends of the two arms 17, 18 are bifurcated, as at 28, for

the reception of terminal eyes 29 on the extremities of the upper and lower leaves 15,

said eyes prefsupported in and between the end lugs of the respective arms. 7

By the above-described construction and arrangement of parts it will be seen that the arms 17, 18 have capacity not only'for longitudinal movement within the blocks 20 but also for concurrent oscillatory movement about the axes of the respective blocks, and

that said arms thus constitute links which flexibly connect the extremities of the spring leaves with the respective upper and lower arms of the equalizing lever. It will also be seen that a longitudinal thrust on either of said links, occasioned by the relative longitudinal movement of the superposed leaves 15, 16 of the spring, will be transmitted throughthe equalizing lever to and longitudinally of the other link, but in an opposite direction. Hence while the links freely permit and insure the fore-and-aft sliding movements of the leaves 15, 16 relatively to each other, resulting from the compression or the rebound 0f the spring, yet fore or aft sliding movement of the spring as a whole is prevented by the counter end thrust, cf-

driving medium in connection ,with slamifore-and-att thrust ofthe driving force.

fected thr ugh the oppositely-related equalizing lever, of the links on the respective leaves of the spring.

My improved compensating spring memv ber effectually performs the functionof a nated springs wherein two or more leavesare required to carry an equal amount of the Itis to be understood that my invention is not limited to the exact construction herein 1 disclosed, asthe same may be modified w1thin the principle of the invention and the H V scope of the appended claims. I

lf mkr v m Y 1. The combination, with a vehicle having frame and axle elements, of a laminated spring, andconnections between said spring and the'respective. elements, one of said con- I nections including a plurality of-longitudi nallymovable thrust members to whichthe i adjacent ends of a like number of super-' posed leaves of the spr ng are connected, and' Ran equalizing device mounted on the adjaw cent elementand coupling sald members, m"

such amanner that the longitudinal movel ment of one "of said members is transmitted in an opposite direction'to the other of said Q members.

" frameand axle elements, of a I laminate spring, andconnect ons between said spring 2. The combination,with a vehicle haven and the respective elements, one of said 4' adjacent ends of av like number of superconnections including a plurality of Ma i: tudinally-movable thrust arms to which the if posed leaves of the spring are connected, and Q an equalizlng lever to the respective limbs v of which the said arms are connected, said leverbeing mounted on the adjacent element,

1 insuch a manner that the longitudinal movement of one of said arms is transmitted in an opposite direction to the other of said arms. i ii i i q The combina ion, with a vehicle frame and axle, and a laminated spring having H its body connected to'l the axle and having pone "end connected to the frame, of a com lever supported on the frame, and pivota pensating connection between the other end 7 of thespring and the frame, said connection including a plurality of longitudinally-movable thrust members to which the adjacent ends of a like numberrof superposed leaves of the spring are connected, and an equalizing device mounted on the frame and coupling the respective members, 111 such a manner that the longitudinal movement of one of said members is transmitted-in an opposite direction tothe other of said members. 7

" 4:. The combination, with a vehiclefframe and axle, and a laminated spring having its body connected to the axle and having one end connected to the'frame; of a compensating connection between the other end of the spring and the frame, said connection comprising spaced guide members mounted to oscillate on'the frame, a pair of diverging 7 thrust arms to the proximate ends of whic shackled to the'frame, of a compensating connection between the other end of these spring and the frame, said connection comprising a housing aflixed to the framei spaced guide members pivotally supported ,insaid housing, a pair of diverging thrust arms to the proximate ends of which the g5 superposed leaves of the spring are hingedly connected, said arms being slidabl'yfsuppo'rt ed by said guide members, an equalizing lever having arelativelyfi xed axis of oscillation, and pivotal block connections between the respective li'mbs of the lever and the divergent ends of the thrustarms. "Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, this 14th day ofQOctober, A. D 1919. r j

' ARCHER H. HARRIS. 

